ABSTRACT
Communitarianism, the conceptual framework guiding this book that emerged during the 1990s in political science and sociology in response to liberal philosophy, is the focus of the fifth chapter. This theoretical perspective moved the debate from the universal, individual-oriented liberal philosophies to the particular, local, and collective, that is, to the central place of the community. Following a discussion of the purposes and essentials of communitarianism, an analysis of its implications for education is provided, emphasizing the meeting of collective needs, the central place of tradition and family, the commitment of teachers to prepare students for what the community needs, and so on. Reforms are advocated, then, for adopting a pragmatic, integrative view of educational reform in developing countries.
